Brian Eno - And Then So Clear

Listen to this before and after reading the two blog posts, below. You'll need it.

Poisonus Speech

Can right-wing hate talk lead to murder?

In Buddhism the answer is yes.

Violent actions begin with violent thoughts. Violent words spread violent thoughts like a virus. Through mass media and the Internet, violence can become pandemic. The radio and television personalities who incite crimes may not be legally culpable, but there is a Karmic consequence to their wrong speech.

In the Dhammapada, the Buddha said,

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts. It is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

It's useful to think of hateful and divisive speech as a poison. To some people, hateful rhetoric they are marinaded with gives permission to commit violence.

I clearly see the connection between the paranoid megalomania churned out by these radio and television cult leaders. And it seems to me that speech in mass media and the Internet is growing more extreme.

What can we do? As individuals we can keep our cool and not give in to the temptation to answer hate with hate. We can practice the Four Immeasurables and cultivate loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. We can hope that, eventually, more people will understand that thoughts and speech really are connected to violence.

(This post is extracted from this article.)

Right Wing Media Cult Followers

In my view the right-wing radio and television political commentators are the leaders of personality cults.

They cultivate a group of unquestioning followers, who believe the leader holds the exclusive Truth. Rational and independent thought is unnecessary, discouraged or forbidden. These followers isolate themselves from the outside world and any reality testing it could provide.

These personalities appeal to people with low self-esteem, and teach that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, and they're the only ones who see it coming. I believe they fulfill a desire in their followers to feel superior to everyone else; they are the only ones with the truth -- everyone else is wrong.

Sadly, these personalities are often psychopathic and power hungry. They exist only for their own material benefit, making 10s of millions of dollars annually.

This would all be rather harmless and curious if it did not cause violence (of which there have been several recent examples). They incite violence, yet take no responsibility for it.

It's also frightening that these cult followers vote based on the inbred information provided by the right-wing media.

I cannot change the right-wing media, nor their followers.

I can attempt to be objective, obtain my information from many sources, and do everything in my power to keep these people out of political office.

Brian Eno - Just Another Day (Timelapse)

Brian Eno has some great music; this is one of my favorites. A well done video, as well.

The Running Mockingbird

Recently I was working in my yard, when I noticed an adult mockingbird that kept running from me. It couldn't fly, so it ran.

Something in its physiology was not right, so it dealt with my presence in the only way that it could.

This is true of humans, also. The human psyche is made up of certain dimensions which define all humans: the ability to reason, to delay gratification in pursuit of a higher goal, to show compassion, to display loving-kindness, to develop self-esteem and encourage it in others, to be objective.

When any of these qualities are distorted or missing, our lives are not the fullest. We cannot fly (or perhaps not even run). So we deal with the situations in life as best we can -- sometimes skillfully, oftentimes not.

I think that in most cases where these shortcomings exist, we can only compensate for their absense. We cannot be made whole, but we can learn to cope. We learn to run, like the mockingbird.

So how can we learn to cope with our shortcomings and encourage others to compensate for theirs?

A Public Plan

First get the facts straight, then you can distort them as you please. - Mark Twain

There are folks who will distort what health care reform is about, with or without the facts.

President Obama's goals for health care reform are:

1. Reduce costs — Rising health care costs are crushing the budgets of governments, businesses, individuals, and families, and they must be brought under control

2. Guarantee choice — Every American must have the freedom to choose their plan and doctor – including the choice of a public insurance option

3. Ensure quality care for all — All Americans must have quality and affordable health care

Remember nothing from this blog but these three goals, above.

Here are some other facts: 1) 68 to 88 percent of Americans strongly support or support health reform; 2) Between 45 million and 50 million Americans lack health insurance; 3) Annually between 18,000 and 20,000 Americans die because they don't have health insurance; 4) Medical bills force over half of all personal bankruptcies; 5) The United States is the only industrialized nation without a public policy.

The health care industry (hospitals and doctors), the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry are lobbying against health reform and a public plan. Of course, the Republicans were against Medicare and Medicaid when those were first introduced and they will certainly be against anything that President Obama proposes.

Finally, I personally think that my illnesses and infirmities should not be the profit motivation for these industries. I think doctors, hospitals and pharmaceuticals should either keep me in good health, or to restore me to health when I am ill. The reason for insurance is to spread the risk for its members -- that's basically what insurance is. I think all three industries could do better. But they won't without new governmental standards.

Diamond Sutra

I put this together from National Geographic, Brian Dunning and of course, the Buddha's Diamond Sutra. Enjoy.